Surah 10. Yunus

And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth],⁶⁶ or whether We cause thee to die [before that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they must return; and God is witness to all that they do.⁶⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "of what We promise them" or "of what We threaten them with" - i.e., the inevitable retribution, sometimes even in this world, which a deliberate denial of the truth brings in its wake.

The above verse is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet, and relates to those of his contemporaries who refused to acknowledge the truth of the Qur'anic revelation. In its wider sense, however, it is addressed to every believer who might find it incomprehensible that life-long suffering is often the lot of the righteous, while many wrongdoers and deniers of the truth apparently remain unscathed and are allowed to enjoy the good things of life. The Qur'an solves this apparent paradox by making it clear that, in comparison with the life to come, the life in this world is but a brief moment, and that it is only in the hereafter that man's destiny reveals itself in all its true aspects. Cf. 3:185 - "only on the Day of Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have done]...for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion".

Whether We show you in your lifetime some consequences of what We have promised them, or cause you to die before that, in any case they will have to return to Us: moreover Allah is watching all their actions.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Whether We let thee (O Muhammad) behold something of that which We promise them or (whether We) cause thee to die, still unto Us is their return, and Allah, moreover, is Witness over what they do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

NOW every community has had an apostle; and only after their apostle has appeared [and delivered his message] is judgment passed on them, in all equity;⁶⁸ and never are they wronged.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and when their apostle has come, a decision is made between them in all equity". This verse stresses (a) the continuity of religious revelation in mankind's history and the fact that in the long run no community, period or civilization (which latter is one of the meanings attributable to the term ummah) has been left without prophetic guidance, and (b) the doctrine that God does not punish "a community for its wrongdoing so long as its people are still unaware [of the meaning of right and wrong]: for all shall be judged according to their [conscious] deeds" ({6:131-132}).

Every nation was sent a Rasool. Once their Rasool came, judgement was passed between them with all fairness and they were not wronged in the least.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And for every nation there is a messenger. And when their messenger cometh (on the Day of Judgment) it will be judged between them fairly, and they will not be wronged.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And yet, they [who deny the truth] are wont to ask, "When is that promise [of resurrection and judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"

  - Mohammad Asad

They ask: "When will this promise be fulfilled, tell us if what you say be true?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: When will this promise be fulfilled, if ye are truthful?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say [O Prophet]: "It is not within my power to avert harm from, or bring benefit to, myself, except as God may please.⁶⁹ For all people a term has been set: when the end of their term approaches, they can neither delay it by a single moment, nor hasten it."⁷⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "and since I do not possess any supernatural powers, I cannot predict that which is beyond the reach of human perception (al-ghayb)".

See 7:34 and the corresponding notes [25] and [26]. In the above context, the "end of the term" refers, in particular, to the coming of the Last Hour and the Day of Judgment.

Say: "I have no control over any harm or benefit to myself, except what Allah wills. For every nation there is a deadline: when their deadline comes, it can neither be delayed for even a moment, nor it can be advanced.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: I have no power to hurt or benefit myself, save that which Allah willeth. For every nation there is an appointed time. When their time cometh, then they cannot put it off an hour, nor hasten (it).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Have you ever considered [how you would feel] if His chastisement were to befall you by night or by day? What could there be in that prospect that people lost in sin should wish to hasten?⁷¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "What [part] thereof might the people lost in sin (al-mujrimun) wish to hasten" - meaning, according to Zamakhshari, that "all of [God's] chastisement is awful and bitter, and should inspire one with the desire to flee therefrom;...and there is nothing in it that ought to make one wish to hasten it". This is an allusion to the incredulous inquiry of the deniers of the truth about the coming of the Last Hour (verse {48} above), as well as to their sarcastic demand that they should be immediately chastised by God in proof of Muhammad's prophetic mission (cf. {6:57-58} and 8:32 , as well as the corresponding notes). - The expression "by night or by day" occurring in the preceding sentence denotes the suddenness and unexpectedness with which doom is bound to encompass the evildoers on the Day of Judgment.

Say: "Have you ever considered that if his scourge fall upon you by night or by day you can do nothing to avert it? What then is there that the criminals wish to hasten?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Have ye thought: When His doom cometh unto you as a raid by night, or in the (busy) day; what is there of it that the guilty ones desire to hasten?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Will you, then, believe in it [only] after it has come to pass - [on the Day when you will be asked, 'Do you believe in it] now,⁷² after having [contemptuously] called for its speedy advent?'

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "when it is too late" (Tabari, Zamakhshari, Razi; my interpolation at the beginning of this sentence is based on these authorities).

Would you believe it when it actually overtakes you? Then you would beg it to be removed although it had been your own wish to hurry it on."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is it (only) then, when it hath befallen you, that ye will believe? What! (Believe) now, when (until now) ye have been hastening it on (through disbelief)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

- whereupon those who [in their lifetime] were bent on evildoing will be told, 'Taste suffering abiding! Is this requital anything but the just due for what you were wont to do?'"⁷³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Are you being requited for anything but for what you were wont to earn?"

Then it will be said to the wrongdoers: "Taste the everlasting punishment! Should you not be rewarded according to your deeds?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then will it be said unto those who dealt unjustly: Taste the torment of eternity. Are ye requited aught save what ye used to earn?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And some people⁷⁴ ask thee, "Is all this true?" Say: "Yea, by my Sustainer! It is most certainly true, and you cannot elude [the final reckoning]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they" - i.e., those of the unbelievers who are wavering in their agnosticism and - as mentioned in verse {36} above - "follow nothing but conjecture" (Manar XI, 394).

They ask you: "Is what you say really true?" Tell them: "Yes! By my Rabb, it is absolutely true! And you will not be able to avert it."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they ask thee to inform them (saying): Is it true? Say: Yea, by my Lord, verily it is true, and ye cannot escape.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And all human beings that have been doing evil⁷⁵ would surely, if they possessed all that is on earth, offer it as ransom [on Judgment Day];⁷⁶ and when they see the suffering [that awaits them], they will be unable to express their remorse.⁷⁷ But judgment will be passed on them in all equity; and they will not be wronged.

  - Mohammad Asad

In this instance, by deliberately giving the lie to the Prophet and rejecting the message of the Qur'an.

Cf. 3:91 and the corresponding note [71].

The primary meaning of the verb asarrahu is "he concealed it" or "he kept it secret", thus the phrase asarru 'n-nadamah (expressed in the past tense but in the above context obviously denoting a future event) could be rendered as "they will conceal their remorse". In view, however, of the many statements in the Qur'an that on the Day of Judgment the sinners will not only not conceal but will, rather, stress their remorse, some of the commentators (e.g., Baghawi, on the authority of Abu'Ubaydah) are of the opinion that in this particular verse the verb asarra denotes the opposite of its primary meaning and, accordingly, interpret the phrase as "they will manifest their remorse". But the linguistic validity of this rather forced interpretation has been emphatically contested by many philologists, and particularly by Abu Mansur al-Azhari (cf. Lane IV, 1337); and since there is no convincing reason to disregard the original significance of the verb asarra with its implication of "concealment", the above Qur'anic phrase must be understood (as Zamakhshari understands it), in the metonymical sense of an involuntary "concealment", that is, the sinners' inability to express the full depth of their remorse.

If every person that has done injustice possessed all that the earth contains, he would be willing to offer it all in ransom to redeem himself if he could. They will regret in their hearts when they see the punishment of Hell. The decision between them will be made with justice and no wrong will be done to them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if each soul that doeth wrong had all that is in the earth it would seek to ransom itself therewith; and they will feel remorse within them, when they see the doom. But it hath been judged between them fairly and they are not wronged.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth! Oh, verily, God's promise always comes true - but most of them know it not!

  - Mohammad Asad

Be aware! All that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. Be aware! The promise of Allah is true, yet most of them do not know.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! verily all that is in the heavens and the earth is Allah's. Lo! verily Allah's promise is true. But most of them know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He alone grants life and deals death; and unto Him you all must return.⁷⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "you shall be brought back" - for, "all that exists goes back to Him [as its source]" ( 11:123 ).

He is the One Who gives life and causes death, and to Him you shall all return.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He quickeneth and giveth death, and unto Him ye will be returned.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O MANKIND! There has now come unto you an admonition from your Sustainer, and a cure for all [the ill] that may be in men's hearts,⁷⁹ and guidance and grace unto all who believe [in Him].

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., a remedy for all that is contrary to truth and moral good.

O mankind! There has come to you an instruction from your Rabb, a cure for whatever (disease) is in your hearts, a guidance and a blessing for the true believers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O mankind! There hath come unto you an exhortation from your Lord, a balm for that which is in the breasts, a guidance and a mercy for believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "In [this] bounty of God and in His grace - in this, then, let them rejoice: it is better than all [the worldly wealth] that they may amass!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "It is the grace and mercy of Allah (that He has sent this Qur'an), so let the people rejoice over it, for it is better than (the worldly riches) they are collecting."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy: therein let them rejoice. It is better than what they hoard.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Have you ever considered all the means of sustenance which God has bestowed upon you from on high⁸⁰ - and which you thereupon divide into 'things forbidden' and 'things lawful'?"⁸¹ Say: "Has God given you leave [to do this] - or do you, perchance, attribute your own guesswork to God?"

  - Mohammad Asad

This connects with the statement, in verse {57}, that the Qur'an offers to man a complete guidance towards the good life and spiritual fulfilment in this world, and happiness in the life to come. As already mentioned in surah {2}, note [4], the term rizq connotes all that may be good and useful to man, be it of a physical nature (in the conventional sense of "means of sustenance") or belonging to the realm of the mind (like reason, knowledge, etc.) or of the spirit (like faith, kindness, patience, etc.). Thus, it applies exclusively to positive, beneficial means of sustenance and never to things or phenomena which are morally reprehensible and/or physically or socially injurious.

Lit., "and thereupon you have made some of it forbidden (haram) and [some of it] lawful (halal)". The fact that it is God who "has bestowed upon you from on high" (anzala 'alaykum) - i.e., has willed that man should make use of - all that can be qualified as rizq, automatically makes all its manifestations lawful (Zamakhshari). In accordance with the doctrine that everything which has not been expressly forbidden by the Qur'an or the explicit teachings of the Prophet is eo ipso lawful, this verse takes a clear-cut stand against all arbitrary prohibitions invented by man or artificially "deduced" from the Qur'an or the Prophet's sunnah (Manar XI. 409 f.: see also note [58] on verse {36} of this surah, as well as {5:101-102} and the corresponding notes). In its wider sense, the above verse relates to people who refuse to be guided by revelation and prefer to "follow nothing but conjecture" (verse {36}).

O Prophet, ask them: "Have you ever considered that out of the sustenance which Allah has given you, you yourselves have made some things Halal (lawful) and others Haram (unlawful)? Ask them: "Did Allah permit you to do so, or do you ascribe a false thing to Allah?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Have ye considered what provision Allah hath sent down for you, how ye have made of it lawful and unlawful? Say: Hath Allah permitted you, or do ye invent a lie concerning Allah?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But what do they think - they who attribute their own lying inventions to God - [what do they think will happen to them] on the Day of Resurrection? Behold, God is indeed limitless in His bounty unto men - but most of them are ungrateful.

  - Mohammad Asad

What treatment do they think those people will get, who ascribe false things to Allah, on the Day of Resurrection? Indeed Allah is full of grace to mankind, but most of them are not grateful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And what think those who invent a lie concerning Allah (will be their plight) upon the Day of Resurrection? Lo! Allah truly is Bountiful toward mankind, but most of them give not thanks.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall